All the feelings Keigetsu had been unknowingly suppressing came gushing forth. The first thing that popped into her mind was the sight of Reirin standing up to the emperor. That had been a risky strategy. Genyou’s sword had cut through several layers of rope in a single slice. One wrong move, and he could have cleaved her head from her shoulders instead.
This girl always took the initiative to cast herself into a maelstrom of danger. In Keigetsu’s stead, she had endured water torture, faced off against a dangerous assassin, and offered her neck to the emperor. Going back further, she had been dropped down a well and buried under a pillar.
“It will be all right,” she would always say, a smile blooming on her face. “To start feeling the pain before I’ve even been hurt would be nothing but a waste of strength.”
She never felt fear. It was almost as though pain didn’t register for her.
Keigetsu thought, But…
“No! I don’t want to die! Nooo!”
She recalled Reirin’s terror-stricken shrieks when Genyou held his sword to her neck. Had that really been an act? Was there really not a shred of sincerity to those cries?
“I truly was scared earlier.”
The girl claimed to have remembered the feeling of fear. What if she had actually begun to dread death, and she was hiding her suffering behind that calm smile? What if Keigetsu was the one forcing her hand? The thought was too much to bear.
“Do you have any idea how I feel every time I watch you do this?!” Keigetsu’s voice cracked. Her head felt like it was burning up, and that heat throbbed and raged until words started spilling from her mouth of their own accord. “Last night, didn’t I tell you I wouldn’t let you forget this?! And you said you never would! Then why—” Upon noticing the vulnerable look on her friend’s face, Keigetsu spun around in a huff. “Forget it! I hate you so much! I don’t want to waste my time talking to you!”
Shoes clacking against the floor, she flew out of the room without a care for etiquette.
“Lady Keigetsu!” Reirin reached out a hand on impulse, then pulled it back with a start as soon as she realized what she was doing. “In times like these, it’s best to give her some space,” she murmured, as if trying to convince herself.
Struggling to stand by and watch, Gyoumei signaled Keishou with a jerk of his chin. “Keishou, go calm her down.”
“Yes, Your Highness. Leave it to me.” Keishou had obviously been anxiously awaiting the order. No sooner did he bow than he rushed right out the door.
Gazing upon the wreckage that had become of the teacups, the concerned Seika, Houshun, and Kasui piped up in succession.
“Um, Lady Reirin…”
“Are you all right?”
“I hope you didn’t cut yourself on any of the shards.”
Before any of them could approach, Gyoumei said, “The court ladies will clean up the debris. Sorry, but could I ask you three to return to your rooms?”
“C-certainly!”
Although Keigetsu was the one who had thrown the fit, this was still an embarrassing scene for Reirin. He probably wanted as few people involved as possible. Inferring as much, the three Maidens bowed politely and left the room without a fuss.
“Pardon me.” Tousetsu bent down and did her part as a court lady to clean up. While she worked to gather up the shards with brisk efficiency, anxious sweat beaded on her forehead. She couldn’t stop thinking back to her conversation with Keikou the other night.
“That’s a touching thought and all, but…is that really all it takes to resolve the issue? One side bursts into worried tears, and suddenly everything’s fine?”
She had been so sure the issue was resolved. From an outsider’s perspective, it was obvious that the two girls were worried about each other. Yet in practice, things had gone exactly as Keikou predicted. As unattuned as Tousetsu was to the subtleties of emotion, she couldn’t begin to guess what was causing the hard feelings.
Nor am I sure whose side to take.
Keigetsu had let her emotions get the better of her, hurling abuses just because she was embarrassed and throwing a tantrum when things didn’t go her way. On the other hand, Tousetsu agreed that her mistress needed to fix her habit of gambling with her life at the drop of a hat.
“Uh, Lady Reirin,” Leelee ventured, looking Reirin over to make sure she hadn’t been hit by a flying shard. “A-are you all right?”
She asked because this whole scenario was taking her back to the Rite of Reverence. Back then, Reirin had plunged into the Violet Dragon’s Spring to save Keigetsu and angered her as a result. After Keigetsu declared their friendship over, the Kou Maiden had been a mess: She had dropped a mooncake, spilled her ink, let her room fall into disarray, and ultimately allowed Kasui to take her out from behind. Leelee was worried they were in for a repeat of that debacle when they couldn’t afford the slightest distraction from catching the sorcerer.
However, Reirin only blinked in response. “Hm?”
“W-well, er, you know…” In her efforts to tread with caution, Leelee landed on a very roundabout wording. “Lady Keigetsu said the word that starts with ‘h’ and ends with ‘e.’”
Reirin burst out giggling. “Oh, Leelee, you silly dear, I’m perfectly fine. Lady Keigetsu gave me permission to interpret her insults however I see fit. It no longer bothers me to hear her say she hates me.”
“Uh, I don’t think she quite did that, but if you say so…”
“Don’t worry. I plan to apologize once Lady Keigetsu has calmed down.”
Her serene smile was the perfect picture of composure. Perhaps a fight was no big deal the second time around.
A wave of relief washed over Leelee. “Well, I’m glad to hear—”
Before she could finish, Gyoumei observed that Tousetsu had finished cleaning up and said, “I have something to discuss with Reirin. Mind stepping outside, court ladies?”
The abrupt order had Leelee and Tousetsu exchanging flummoxed looks. It wasn’t really appropriate for the crown prince and his Maiden to be alone without so much as a single attending court lady. Still, they knew how much Gyoumei treasured Kou Reirin. Assuming he wanted to comfort her after that harsh dressing-down, they complied without protest. Court ladies were in no position to defy the crown prince in the first place.
“As you wish, Your Highness.”
The pair bowed and attempted to slip out quietly, but Gyoumei called them over and whispered a few words of instruction into their ears. Surprise flashed across their faces, but it didn’t take them long to nod firmly and make a swift exit.
That left Gyoumei alone with Reirin, who stood there with a puzzled expression.
“Um, Your Highness, what did you wish to talk—”
“Sit.” Gyoumei cut off her confused inquiry, took her by the arm, and sat her down in a chair.
“No, it would be wrong of me to be seated while you—”
“Listen carefully.” When his cousin attempted to get up, Gyoumei put his hands on her shoulders, gently pushed her back down, and brought his face up to hers. “Until I say otherwise, you are forbidden from responding to me with anything but ‘Yes, sir.’”
“Pardon?” Reirin blurted out, only to be immediately corrected.
“No, not ‘Pardon?’ Say, ‘Yes, sir.’”
“Y-yes, sir.”
As his fiancée blinked up at him, her bewilderment evident, the gorgeous crown prince declared, “It’s time for a lecture.”